Tag Archives: ITC

Is it really that time of year again? Is it really time for ‘In The City’ all over again?…

Well with the music press telling us that ‘Manchester is where it’s at’, and the best line up in years, it definitely appears that In The City is back and stronger than ever. After a rough couple of years there seems to be a genuine enthusiasm and excitement surrounding things in 2010…

We tried to do a top ten ‘things to see at ITC’. Half way through listings, and already up to 15 we knew we had to get a little more stern with ourselves… It might not be a ‘Top 10’, but here is our ‘everybody’s stalking Top 10 + 1 things to see, and IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER…

Our first must see is London’s Beaty Heart. Any band with three drummers is sure to cause a certain amount of interest, but we’re very excited to see how they pull off their dark, soulful, tribal, calypso,weird loveliness live! They grace the NOHO stage at 10.45pm on Wednesday!

Beaty Heart – Cola.

Another band from the capital are 2:54, and they’re another band we’re still to see live. It’s a good few months now since we first heard their pretty, shoegaze pop and after a few dates with Blood Red Shoes they’re playing NOHO at 9pm on Wednesday.

2:54 – Creeping.

Now a lot has been said about the rise in popularity of ‘folk’, but all of that aside, and focusing on genuine talent we’ve definitely fallen for Dry The River. A beautiful voice, delicate harmonies and great songs. Dry The River will be playing Band On The Wall at 10.10pm on Wednesday.

Dry The River – Bible Belt.

and finally a Manchester band. We’ve been lucky enough to see Young British Artists on many an occasion, but not for a little while. With a sound that’s grown steadily in stature over time, and releases through Red Deer Club under their belts, YBA are one the city’s more noisier offerings, but by far one of the best. Definitely can’t be missed at 8pm at The Castle on Wednesday.

Young British Artists – Lived In Skin.

With Oxford being another place people seemingly love to refer to as a current musical hub, it would be rude not to see one of its bands in our list, so it’s lucky we’ve decided include Fixers. Showing a more playful and energetic side of Animal Collective they won’t be short of fans. They hit NOHO at 8.20pm Thursday.

Fixers – Iron Deer Dream.

Maybe we are a little bit biased, but we couldn’t have our very own Mammal Club playing In The City and not be all over them like melting butter. With more songs coming thick and fast from the Art Math Poppers we’re very excited about their visit to Manchester. Be at The Castle at 10.20pm on Thursday or be…. erm… square?…

Mammal Club – Picket.

We’d definitely be lying if we were to say we knew a lot about Vondelpark, so it’s more an intrigue into the small number of songs we’ve heard that’s drawing us to this. There’s very little find about this chap/band online, but the songs we have stumbled across are pretty sweet. If you’re a fan of Washed Out/Toro Y Moi but want something with a little more about it then look no further. Just be at Gullivers for 8pm on Thursday.

VondelPark – Jetlag.

We featured their song ‘Old Ties’ on our August mixtape, but depressingly we’ve not managed to catch one of the early Slow Motion Shoes gigs. With a varying sound that could as easily be put under the whole ‘ChillWave’ (did I really just say that?… I feel sick) banner as it could be likened to the mighty Elliott Smith, they really are an eclectic bunch. We’ve liked everything we’ve heard so far, and are looking forward to popping our Slow Motion Shoes cherry at Soup Kitchen, 9pm on Friday.

Slow Motion Shoes – Brendan Fraser.

Eagulls are a little bit different to a lot of the stuff at ITC this. After a whole lot of twee, meandering tunes (not that we’re complaining) this seems to be the return of something dirty and angry. With a nod towards great early 90’s American Rock, Council Flat Blues is good starting point. They’ll be playing Soup Kitchen at 7.20pm Friday.

Eagulls – Council Flat Blues.

Tip Of Your Tongue has been one of our favourite songs so far this year so including Porcelain Raft in our list was nothing more than a formality. It’s moody, beautiful, elegant and executed with such finesse. We’ll let the song do the talking. A must see for us! 9.20pm at Band On The Wall, Friday.

Porcelain Raft – Tip Of Your Tongue.

Now we feel a little bit like a cheaty cheat for including Standard Fare with it only being a matter of days since we caught them at KRAAK with Shrag an’ all. But the truth is that since that moment we saw them ‘Philadelphia’ has been dominating our playlists. It’s going to take something pretty special to displace it as our ‘Song Of ITC 2010’. See Standard Fare at The Castle, 10.30pm on Friday.

Standard Fare – Philadelphia.

So that about wraps it up. Our Top 10 +1 for ITC 2010. Unfortunately we couldn’t include more of the stuff we’re exciting about over the next few days, so here’s a run down of a few other bits and pieces we’ll be seeing too….